Railway-truck.



A. M. CLARK.

RAILWAY TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.27, 1908.

922,750, Patented May 25, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. M. CLARK.

RAILWAY TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED $1111.27, 1908.

922,759 Patented May 25, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. M. CLARK.

RAILWAY TRUCK.

APPLICATION II'LED JAN. 27, 190B.

Patented May 25, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHBET 3.

V A. M. CLARK.

RAILWAY TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 27, 1908.

Patented. May 25, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

A. M; CLARK.

RAILWAY TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED .TAN.27, 190s.

Patented May 25, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

A. M. CLARK.

RAILWAY TRUCK. APPLICATION FILED mum, 1908.

22.75. V Patentd May 25, 1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

' be, distributed from the bolster equally upon 'all of the truck wheels, and to ALBERT M. CLARK, OF MABSHALLTOWN, IOWA.

RAILWAY-TEUGK.

Specification of Letters Eatcnt.

Patented May :36, 1905?.

Application filed January 27, 1998. Serial No. 32,770.

To all whom it may concern:

1 a sectional view on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8,

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. CLARK, a i said view being taken through the center of citizen of the United States ,residing at Marshalltown, in the county of Marshall and State of Iowa, have invented a new and use ful Railway-Truck, of which the following is a s ecification.

- he object of my invention is to provide'a railwa truck of simple and durable construction, so arranged that the entire weight of the end of a car may be borne upon the turn table of a single bolster, and the weight I rovide a truck of this kind in which the ax es of the forward and rear pairs of wheels may as sume positions out of parallelism with each other, so that when the truck is going around a curved'portion of the track, the flanges of the wheels will not bind against the track, as is the case in trucks in which the forward and rear wheels of a truck are held parallel at all times. Y

A further object is to. provide a device of this kind in which the weight of a car is cushioned as applied to the supporting wheels, and further to provide mneans whereby end of the bolster adjacent to the outer rail of a curve in a track will be automatically elevated a slight distance above the other end of the bolster, to thereby slightly tilt or incline the car in a direction away from the outer rail of a curved track.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device,-whereby the objects cbn teinplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1 shows a top or plan View of a truck embodying my invention and supported on a curved track. Fig.2 shows a top or plan view of a truck embodying my invention with the bolster and, adjacent parts removed to show certain. details of construction that are concealed in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 shows a side elevation of a truck embodying my invention. .Fig. 5 shows, a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 shows a sectional View on the line 66 of Fig. 2. Fig. '7 shows a top or plan view of a modified form of the invention designed for use upon a single rail. Fig. 8 shows a side elevationof same. Fig. 9 shows end of the bolster is elevated.

w Referring to the accompanyin drawings,"

the 1 one of thebearing boxes, and at the side oi the other, and Fig. 10 shows an enlarged detail view of the bolster supporting springs, and comiected parts. The dotted lines in said figure indicate the positions the parts would assume when the-truck is goin around a curved portion of a track, and

t e outer l have used the reference numera 10 to indi cate the axles, and 11 the flanged wheels socured thereto. bearing boxes 12. I provide an independent frame for each axle, each of which is indicated by the numeral 13, and is composed oi side and end members rigidlyconnected.

Each bearing box is mounted in its frame by means oftwo sleeves l4 fixed to lts sides and .slidingly mounted upon the upright bolts 15.

The lower ends of said bolts are supported by the straps 16 secured below the'frame sides.- By this arrangement, thebearing boxes are permitted to move vertically a limited distance relative .to the frame. A sliding block 17 is mounted in each side of the frame, and rests upon the top of each bearing box. These blocks 17 support the weight of the central bolster in a mannerto be hereinafter described. I connect the two frames"to- "other to form a truck as follows: Arranged;

Each axle is mounted in the longitudinally at the center or each frame is a plate 18, and fixed'to said'platc above-thinv center of the axle is apin' 19. These two ins are connected by means of a connecting or 20, which is ivoted at its ends to both ins 19, and in t llS way the two frames are ield in position relativeto each other again-st movement toward or from each other.

In order to provide for an equal movement? of the frames-relative to each other when one is turned with its axle out of parallelism with the other, I have provided twoplates21 ar'- ranged at the sides 'of the trucks, and pivoted to each plate 21 are two equalizin levers 22 extended from the lates inward y toward the center of the truclr, and on divergent lines with their inner ends, pivoted to the adjacent ortions of the truck frames, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

In order to hold the plates 21 in proper position relative to each other, I provide a cross bar 23 having the center pin 24 passed through its central portion. Said bar projects through a sleeve 23 on the connecting bar 20. By this arrangement, it is obvious that both the plates 21 will be held by the bar 23 at points equally distant from the longitudinal center of the truck, and when one truck'fraine is inclined to position out of parallelism with the other, the levers 22 and plates 21 will serve to turn the opposite truck at the same degree of inclination from the bar-23 as the first truck is turned, but in an opposite direction, so that all of the wheels wi stand in proper position for resting upon a-curved track; In this connection, it is to be understood that the connecting bar 20 is provided with a transverse slot 25, through which the center 24 is passed, thus pera fmitting. the centr bar to move laterally with relation to the.

portion of the connecting pivot pin 24, as required when the truck is rounding a curve. The weight to be borne by the truck iscarried upon a den ter plate 26 mounted on the u per bolster member 27.

At the endsoftl ie bolsterare the chairs 28 designed to aid in supporting the weight of a car. The center pin 24 is extended'through iv the plates 21 and through the lowerbolster extensible coi member 2.8", and are provided at their lower ends with nuts 30.- Said pins are slidingly connected with the lower bolster member.

Mounted upon each of the pins 29 is an spring 31 with its lower. end resting uponthe lower bolster member 28", and its upper end engaging'and supporting the pla te '21 against downward movement. Interposed between the upper and lower bolster members on each side are the cushionmg springs 32, hence any weight applied to the up er bolster member is transmitted through t e springs 32 to the lower bolster member. v

I have provided for distributing any weight applied to the lower bolster member equally upon each of the four bearing boxes as follows: Pivoted to the outer end of each side of each truck frame is a lever 33 pivoted 1 at 34, and extended inwardly toward the center of the truck. Each lever is provided. -wlth a pin 35, which pin is connected to the sliding block 17 and as before stated, this block rests on top of the bearing boxes. the inner end of each lever 33 is a hanger 36, which hanger extends downwardly and is ivoted at its lower end to a lug 37 on the ower bolster member, hence, all of the weight appliedto the lower bolster member is transmitted to the-four sliding blocks 17 Lvhrch rest directly upon the four bearing oxes.

One of the important features of my invention consists in the rovision of means for automatically elevating the end ofthe bolster that isadjacen't to the outer portion of the curve in a track, and the means by which this is accomplished is clearly shown in Fig. 10. When both truck frames are in parallel positions the hangers 36 extend a proximately vertical. However, when t e truck frames assume the relative positions shown in Fig. 1, then the levers 33 at the outer side of the curved track will separate a greater distance than the cones ,onding levers on the inner side of the track will'move toward each other, hence, the outer end of the bolster will be slightly elevated as shown /in Fig. 10, and this elevation will be greater than that of the inner end.

In practical operation, and assuming that the truck is standing upon a straight track,

it'is obvious that the weight of a car resting upon the u per bolster member will tend to yleldingly old the Wheels on the front and,

rear frame members in line with each other, for the reason that said wei ht tends to deress the bolster'and thus orces the lower olster member I down to its lower limit, thereby applying equal power upon each of the four hangers 36, therefore the inner ends of the levers 33 will be yieldingly held in such positions that the wheels of the front.

and rear frames will aline by means of the weight of the car applied to the truck.

Therefore, when the truck is standing upon or running on a straight track, the wheels angle divergent from the b0 ster, and .this' ,movement will be transmitted through the equalizing levers 22 and the plates 21 to the truck frame of the rear wheels and cause it to stand at an equal angle relative to the bolster in an opposite direction, so that. the

wheel flan es of the forward and rear truck frames will have no tendencyito bind upon the rails, on a curved portion of a track, such as is the case with a rigid truck having four or more flanged wheels. serve to cushion the vibrations of the truck frames, as a plied to the supporting bolster,

and hence t e vibrations as applied to the bolster will be reduced to a minimum.

In Fi s. 7, 8 and 9, I have illustrated a modifie form of truck of the class designed to be used upon a single rail, and 'I have shown this modified form for the purpose of illustrating the means by'which my invention as illustrated in the other figures may be applied 'to a truck of this kmd. The

The springs 31,

various features of this truck, by which it is enabled to run upon a single rail, form no art of my present invention, and theyare lly illustrated and described in Patent No. 825,958, issued July 17, 1906. It is be lieved tnat the structure and function of my invention as applied to a truck of this kind will be made clear if it is assumed that the various arts shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 and indicate by reference numerals, are considered to be the equivalents of the parts bearing the samenumerals in the other form of my invention. Practically the only structural change necessary to adapt my present invention to the form of truck shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, is in the connecting plate which in 1 the forms shown in Fi .7 is seen to be composed of two parallel side members 38 and ends 39, the side members being spaced apart from each other so as to permit t e grooved wheels 40 to project upwardly between said side members 38. However, the parts 38 and 39 are the mechanical equivalent of the connecting-plate 20, and

r the cross pieces 41 shown in Fig. 7 are the mechanical equivalents of the parts 18 shown in Fig. 2. The operation of this modified form in so faras the arrangement of the wheels for use on a sin 1e rail is con cerned, is fully illustrated an described in the patent above referred to, and the function of the arts by which the front and rear truck-members are able to turn to conform to a curved track, are fully illustrated and described in the description relating to the preferred form of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v 1. A truck, comprising two axles, a frame for each axle, a bolster arranged between the axles, levers fulcrumed to the frames con.- nected with said axles and also connected with the bolster, an equalizing device connected to the bolster and to said frames for holding the frames either in parallel positions or at equal divergent angles relative to the transverse center of the truck.

2. A truck, comprising two axles, a frame for each axle, a bolster arranged between the axles, levers fullumed to the franfes connected with said axles and also connected with the bolster, an equalizing device connected to the bolster and to said frames for holding the frames either in parallel positions or at equal divergent angles relative to the transverse center of the truck, and a connecting piece pivoted centrally to eachframe.

3. A truck, comprising two axles, a frame for each axle, a bolster, and e ualizing levers pivoted to the frames and to t e bolster, and arranged in substantially horizontal positions on lines diverging slightly from the transverse center of the truck.

4. A truck comprisingtwo axles, a frame for each axle, a connecting piece pivoted centrally to both frames, a bolster com arising an upper bolster member and a lower olster member, springs interposed between the bolster members, and equalizing levers pivoted to the frames andto the bolster.

5. A' truck comprising two axles, a frame for each axle, a connecting piece pivoted centrally to both frames, an upper anda lower bolster member, springs interposed between them, a center pivot pin passed through both bolster members and through the connecting pieces, the latter being slotted to receive the center pin, and equalizing levers )ivoted to the frames and extended outwardly and toward each other, and pivoted to the bolster.

6. A truck comprising two axles, a frame for each, a connecting piece centrally piv-. oted to both frames, an upper and a lower bolster member, a pin fixe to each end of the upper bolster member, and slidingly connected with the lower bolster member, springs interposed between the upper and lower bolster members, plates slidingly mounted on said pin, across'piece connecting said lates with each other, a spring interposed ting the weight applied to the lower bolster member to the frames. 7. A truck, comprising two axles, a fram ,for each axle, means for connecting the frames to permit them to move to divergent angles relative to each other, a bolster, and levers pivoted to the frames resting upon-said axles, and connected to the bolster for distributing weight equally .upon the frames when at any position of their movement relative to each other. 8. A truck, comprising two axles, a frame for each axle, a bolster, ande ualizing levers pivoted to the frames and to t e bolster, and arranged in substantially horizontal positions on lines diverging slightly from the transverse center of the truck, and means connected with the bolster for distributing weight applied to the bolster equally upon said frames when said frames are either parallel or at divergent angles relative to each other. v 9. In a truck, the combination of two axles, a bolster, levers pivoted be 0nd the axles and extended toward the be ster, means for connecting the inner ends of the levers with the bolster. and means connecte between applied to the bolster to the ends of the axles.

between the lower bolster member and g each of said plates, and means for transmitthe ends of the levers for distributing weight 10. In a truck, the combination of two axles, an independent frame for each,means for connecting the frames so that they are capable of swinging to position with the axles at divergent angles, a bolster, levers pivoted to theend portions of the bolster and extended toward the axles, hangers pivoted to the'levers and to the bolster, and blocks pivoted to the central portions of the levers, said blocks being supportedu on the ends of the axles and being capable of imited up and down movement relative to theframes- 11. In a truck, the combination of two in-' dependent frames, an axle in'each frame, a

, bearing box for each axle capable of limited sliding movement relative to the frame, a block supported on each bearing box and slidingly connected with the frame, a lever ivoted to each block and fulcrumed to the rame beyond the block, and extended toward the center of the truck, a bolster comprising an u per anda lower member, springs interposed etween thememb'ers, and hangers connected to the inner ends of said levers and to the lower bolster member.

' vers, an

. 12. In a truck, the combination of two frames, an axle in each frame, means for connecting the frames so that the axles may be moved to divergent'angles, levers pivoted to the outer portions of the frames and extended toward the centers of the frames,

- means for supporting the central portions of the leversupon the axles, a bolster, and

hangers (pivoted to the inner ends'of the leextended downwardly and pivoted to said bolster, said parts being so arranged that weight applied to the bolsterwill tend to hold a l of the hangers at substantially the same angles to thereby tend to hold the axles in parallel positions;

13. A truck comprising. twoframes, an

axle in each capable of limited up and down I movement, levers fulcrumed to the outer ends of the frames, and. extended toward the centers thereof, means for pivotally supporting the central portions of the levers upon the ends of the axles, a bolster, hangers connected to the inner ends of said levers, and extended downwardly and pivoted to the bolster, said hangers e ing arranged at such angles. that when weight is ap lied tovthe bo ster,'they will tend to move t e frames to parallel positions. g

14. A truck comprising two frames, an axle in each frame, capable of limited up'and down movement, a sliding block resting upon each end of each axle, a connecting piece centr all pivoted to both frames, an upper and a ower bolster member, springs interposed between them, levers fulcrumed to the outer ends of the frame, pivoted to the said sliding blocks and extended to points adjacent to the ends of the bolster, and hangers pivoted to the levers and extended downwith each other,

Wardly and pivoted to the lower bolster member. i

15. A, truck comprisingtwo frames, an axle in each capable of limited up and down movement, levers fulcrumed tothe'outer ends of the frames, and extended toward the centers thereof, means for pivotally support ing the central portions of the levers upon the ends of the axles, a bolster, hangers connected to the inner ends of said levers-and for connecting their ends to the said bolster,

whereby when the trucks are turned to position with the axle in divergent angles, the, end of the bolster ad'ac'ent to the ends nf the axles that are fart est separated will be slightly elevated.

for each axle-,1 a bolster arrangedbetween the axles, said framesbeing so arranged relative to the bolster that the Y may turn at divergent angles relative to t e bolster and means ,for automatically raisin the end'of the bolstes that isadj aoent to t e ends of the frames that are most Widely separated, when said frames are moved to position at angles divergent from the bolster.

18. A truck, comprismg two axles, a frame frames, an axle in each frame, a bolster,

evers fulcrumed to the r I 17 A truck, comprising two axles, a frame for'each axle, a bolster arranged between the' axles, levers connected to said frames, and hangers ivoted to the levers and to the hol st-er, an so arranged that when the frames 'are moved to divergent an les relative to each other, the.end of the ho sterthat is ad.-. jacent tothe ends of the frame that are most widely separated will be elevated.

Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 11', 1908.

\ ALBERT M. CLARK.

I l/Vitnessesz- I F, E. NORTHUP, O. A. SEELYL 

